Transportation container



Sept. 12, 1933.

F. K. FIL DES TRANSPORTATION CONTAINER Filed NOV. 23, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet .1

INVENTOR FredermMU Zm BY W ATTORNEYS.

W1 TNESSE-d Sept. 12, 1933. F F s 1,926,439

TRANSPORTATION CONTAINER Filed Nov. 23., 19:51 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 2g r 2 I 1 j 5 /l1f--C J r WITNESSES: IN VEN TOR: @22 4 Frederiakiffikias; WW WW A TTORNEYS.

Sept. 12, 1933. F. K. FILDES TRANSPORTATION CONTAINER Filed Nov. 23, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 HQK \m W UP \A w A N \v I 1 V EN TOR: Frederwir fl imag BY M A TTORNEYS.

Se t. 12, 1933. F. K. FILDES TRANSPORTATION CONTAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 23, 1931 E NQNK INVENTOR.:

j fmiaitfffildeg W ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES:

Sept. 12, 1933. F. K. FILDES TRANSPORTATION CONTAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I NVENTORI fi r'aderzcirfiffipldas, W W ATTORNEYS Filed Nov. 23, 1931 FIGJZ WITNESSES: M 70.

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Patented Sept. 12, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application November 23, 1931 Serial No. 576,843

6 Claims.

My invention, while relating generally to removable containers, has particular relation to transportation containers adapted for use on freight cars, motor trucks or other vehicles for the transportation of bulk freight, such as cement, sand, or the like. Heretofore containers for carrying bulk freight have been made of a size so that a number of them situated side by side in either double or single rows are conveniently accoinmodated on the floor of a railroad freight car or other vehicle. Such containers are customarily provided with drop-bottom doors and are handled by means of cranes or like hoisting apparatus which shift them from one platform to another or position them for dumping, it being necessary to raise the containers from the platform or vehicle floor before the contents can be discharged. It frequently happens, however, that the materials are carried to points having no unloading equip ment or hoisting apparatus. For example, it may be desirable to carry cement containers by rail and then by motor truck to the scene of a road building operation, where no facilities are available for removing the containers from the motor truck.

Accordingly, the object of my invention is to provide a form of removable container which is adapted to be handled in the manner customary to railroad shipping containers, but which possesses the further advantage that the contents may be discharged without utilizing a crane or like hoisting apparatus and without the services of an unloading crew. More specifically, the container of my invention is characterized by a boxlike frame, preferably of a Width corresponding to a vehicle platform, and inother respects resembling railroad shipping containers, in which one or more bins for carrying bulk material are pivotally suspended, each bin having a bottom dis- 40 charge opening, and being adapted to be swung outwardly of the frame with the contents discharging over the sides of the vehicle platform upon which the container rests. Thus the prac- 45 tice of my invention involves a marked saving in time and labor as compared to the use of dropbottom containers or the like which require some type of lifting apparatus for the discharge of the contents.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description hereinafter of one embodiment or example thereof, the description having reference to the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Fig. I represents aside elevation of several containers of my invention in place upon a semitrailer.

Fig. II represents a rear end view of the semitrailer with the material carrying bins at the left hand side of the containers swung outward to discharge their contents.

Fig. III represents an enlarged side elevation of one such container.

Fig. IV represents an enlarged view, partly in plan and partly in section, taken as indicated by the lines IV-IV of Fig. V, of one such container.

Fig. V represents an enlarged end elevation of one such container with the right hand portion shown in cross section taken through a bin; and,

Figs. VI, VII and VIII represent perspective views of various elements of a locking and releasing apparatus by means of which the bins are maintained within the frame of the container.

In the particular embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, there is illustrated a num ber of transportation containers, especially adapted for carrying cement or like material, each comprising a box-like frame 1 and a plurality of bins 2 disposed side by side within said frame. Each container frame 1, as shown in Figs. I and II, is of a width corresponding to the width of the platform 3 of the vehicle upon which the containers rest, and is of a length such that two containers occupy the full floor space of the vehicle, a conventional type of semitrailer being selected for illustration as the carrier for transporting the containers.

The base of each container frame 1 is composed of channel beams 4 arranged in rectangular formation. At the four corners, upright posts 5, which may conveniently take the form of lattice work girders, are provided. To the top ends of the upright posts 5, corner castings 6 are fitted, each such casting including a hook 7 which constitutes a connection to which a cable leading to an overhead hoisting apparatus is adapted to be attached. Connecting the corner castings 6 are horizontal top frame members 3 and 9 which are received within collars 10 on the corner castings and are held in place by means of bolts 11. The material carrying bins 2 are shown pivotally suspended from the longitudinal top frame members 8 by means of arms 12 perforated at 13 to receive the tubular frame member, there being five such bins at each side of the container. The

off-center position of the arms 12 with respect to thebody portions of the bins 2 causes each bin to tend by its own weight to swing outward from the frame 1 at the side thereof.

Beams 14 of T-section are disposed transversely across the base members 4 to afford tracks or guides facilitating the movement of the bins to positions within and without the frame 1. The track beams 14 are supported centrally upon a channel beam 15, and at each end 16 they are curved in a vertical plane to form substantially an arc of a circle, the center of which is the axis of the corresponding top frame member 8. At the ends of the channel beam 15, gussets 1'? are riveted, these members serving to connect rigidly the channel beam to the base members 4, and serving also as anchorages for tie rods 13 which lead diagonally to the corner castings 6 and prevent racking of the frame.

The bins 2 are each provided with fill openings 19 having lids29 hinged at 21 and held in closed position by clips 22. The side and end walls 23 of each bin 2 merge near the fill opening 19 with inclined walls 24 to which the supporting arm 12 is attached. In the present example of my invention, the bins 2 are of rectangular cross-section and are each provided with a bottom discharge opening which is normally closed by a drop door 25. The door or closure member 25 is hinged at 26 to the backof the bin and has upturned sides 27 which overlap opposite walls of the bin. Attached to the underside of the door 25 of each bin are brackets 28 which carry a shaft or axle 29 with rollers 38 at its ends, the rollers engaging the horizontal flanges 31 of the track beams 14 previously referred to. 1

As shown in Fig. V, the means for locking the bins 2 to the container frame 1 and for releasing the bins to cause them to swing outward, comprise hcoks 32 and 33, which are pivoted to the track beams 14 by shafts 34, and cooperating latch members which are pivoted to arms 36 on the hooks 32. For each bin 2 there is provided a main operating hook 32 on the track beam 14 at the right-hand side of the bottom of the bin, as shown in Fig. ILand there is provided a companion or auxiliary hook 33 on the track beam 14 at the left-hand side of the bottom of the bin. Each main hook 32 is paired with a companion or auxiliary hook 33 by a connecting shaft 34, as shown in Fig. IV.

A perspective view of one of the main operating hooks 32 is'shown in Fig. VI. The hook 32 includes a cylindrical portion 3'7, which fits over the connecting shaft 34 and is fixedthereon by pins driven through holes 33, and an upstanding arm 36 with a perforation for the reception of a pin 39 upon which a latch member 35 is freely pivoted. The hook 32 also includes a grooved portion 40, which is adapted to receive the end portion of an operating handle 41, and a recessed portion 42 which fits over the axle 29 of the bin 2 as shown in Fig. V. A pin 43 prevents the hook 32 from falling down below its track beam 14 when the bin 2 with which it is associated has been swung outward, asindicated at the left hand of Fig. II. An inclined surface 44 at the front end of the hook 32 causes the return swing of the bin, with engagement of its axle 29 beneath the front end of the hook, to lift the hook a slight distance, whereupon the hook falls again and engages the axle Within its. recessed portion 42.

One of the companion or auxiliary hooks 33 is shown in perspective in Fig. VII. It is similar to the main hook 32 described above, in that it includes, a cylindrical portion 37, a recessed portion 42 and an inclined surface 44 at. its front end. Associated with each main hook 32 is a latch member 35 formed as shown in the perspective view of Fig. VIII. The latch members 35 cooperate With the hooks 32 to insure the locking of the bins 2 within the container. More specifically, they prevent accidental release of a hook 32, their curved ends 45 engaging the axles 29 at the underside, and together with the recessed portions 42 of the hooks 32 completely surrounding the axles.

The operation of the locking and releasing device is as follows: With the bins locked Within a container frame, as shown in Fig. V, a handle 41 is inserted within the grooved portion of the operating hook 32 corresponding to a bin to be emptied. Preferably the handle 41 is offset, as shown at the right hand of Fig. III, so that it extends outward clear of the travel of the bin, safeguarding the operator against the danger of being struck by the bin in its outward swinging movement. With the insertion of a handle 41 Within an operating hook 32, the inner end of the handle strikes the pivoted latch member 35. Further inward movement of the handle causes the latch member 35 to swing outward, releasing the axle 29 of the bin. Thereupon with an upward movement of the handle 41 and a corresponding turning movement of the operating hook 32 and its companion hook 33, the axle 29 of the bin is wholly released, permitting the bin to swing outward by its own weight. The outward swinging of the bin is accompanied by 1 an outward movement of the door 25 guided by the track beam 14. As the rollers 30 pass beyond the ends of the track beam 14, the door 25 drops down, separating from the discharge opening of the bin and affording a chute at the side of the vehicle, as indicated at the left-hand side of Fig. II. With the bin in this position, the operating hook 32 is dropped downward to the point where its pin 43 engages the top edge of the track beam 14. Accordingly, with a returning swinging movement of the bin, which may be accomplished b hand, the axle 29 is adapted to slide beneath the inclined surface 44 of the hook 32, elevating the to a'point where the axle may engage within the recessed portion 42. The auxiliary or companion hooks 33 which are connected to the main hooks 32 by the shafts 34 move up and down with the main hooks. The cooperative action of the latch member 35 is entirely, automatic. As an axle 29 comes within 1 with a curved surface as indicated at 47, so formed as to cause the automatic closing of the drop door with the return of a bin to its normal position within the container.

The carriers used in the transportation of the containers herein described are preferably provided with corner stakes 48 and intermediate stakes 49, as shown in Fig. I, which define rectangular pockets within which the containers are seated, the stakes 48, 49 being so desi ned that they do not interfere with the discharge of the contents of the bins 2.

Each container may be filled in place on a vehicle, or filled when off a vehicle and then swung into place by a crane or like hoisting apparatus. An example of the handling and operations of the above described containers is as follows:

At the plant of a cement manufacturer, railway cars carrying a complement of containers resting on car bottoms may be filled by means of gravity chutes leading to the fill openings 19 of the several containers. The containers may then be carried by rail to a station near their ulti mate destination, and there transferred by overhead cranes to semi-trailers with platforms corresponding in width to the width of the freight car, and in length to, say, the space occupied by two containers placed end to end. Thereupcn the containers may be carried by such semitrailers drawn by motor vehicles to the particular site where the cement is to be used. When the containers have reached their destination, the contents are discharged by inserting hane dles 41 at the bins to be emptied, and causing the release of the operating hooks 32 from the axles 29 of such bins. With the release of a bin 2, in the manner previously described, the bottom closure member 25 drops down over the edge of the platform of the semi-trailer to form a discharge chute. In this position the bin walls 23 are at a steep angle, and the contents are caused to slide down by gravity, and pass through the chute Well clear of te carrier. When the discharge is completed, each bin is returned to its normal position in the manner previously described. From the above description it will be noted that the discharge of the contents of the bins is accomplished quickly and easily and without the necessity of unloading apparatus or the services of an unloading crew.

While I have described one form or embodiment which this invention may take, it will be apparent, especially to those skilled in the art, that various changes be .--ade in the form of transportation container herein described and illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A container comprising a box-like frame of a width corresponding to a vehicle platform, and bins hung pivotally side by side within said frame having discharge openings at the bottoms thereof and closure members at said openings, said bins being pivoted off-center and normally locked Within said frame, and being adapted when released to automatically swing outwardly at opposite sides of the frame with the closure members separating from said openings and the contents discharging at the sides of the vehicle platform upon which the container rests.

2. A container comprising a box-dike frame of a width corresponding to a vehicle platform, and bins hung pivotally side by side within said frame having discharge openings at the bottoms thereof and drop doors at said openings, said bins being pivoted off center and normally locked within said frame, and being adapted when released to automatically swing outwardly in opposite directions with said drop doors serving as chutes whereby the contents of the bins may be discharged over the sides of the vehicle platform upon which the container rests.

3. A container comprising a box-like frame adapted for hoisting by lifting tackle, said frame including top corner pieces, and horizontal members joining said corner pieces; and a bin pivotally suspended from one of said horizontal members, said bin being pivoted off center and being normally locked within said frame and adapted when released to swing outwardly, discharging the contents through the bottom of the bin at the side of said frame.

4:. A container comprising a box-like frame adapted for hoisting by lifting tackle, said frame including top corner pieces, and horizontal members joining said corner pieces; and bins pivotally suspended from said horizontal members and having discharge openings, and doors for closing said openings, said bins being normally locked Within said frame and adapted when released to swing outwardly with said doors serving as chutes whereby the contents may be discharged at opposite sides of said frame.

5. A container of the charactei described comprising a box-like frame, and a bin pivotally mounted within said frame having a discharge opening in the bottom thereof and a door at said opening, a track at the base of said frame, -a

roll r on said door engaging said track, means for locking said bin to said frame; and means for releasing said lock, whereby said bin is caused to swing outwardly of its own weight guided by said track and roller with the door separating from said opening, and the contents of the bin discharging through said opening clear of the side of said frame. v

6. A container of the character described comprising a box-like frame and a bin pivotally mounted within said frame having a discharge openingin the bottom thereof and a door at said opening, a track at the base of said frame, a roller on said door engaging said track, means for locking said bin to said frame, and means for releasing said lcck, whereby said bin is caused to swing outwardly of its own weight guided by said track and roller with the door separating from said opening, and the contents of the bin discharging through said opening clear of the side of said frame, said locking andreleasing means being automatically set for operation by the return swing of said bin to its original position within the container.

FREDERICK K. FILDES. 

